Thursday, September 28, 2006

Procrastination

Main Entry: pro·cras·ti·natePronunciation: pr&-'kras-t&-"nAt, prO-Function: verbInflected Form(s): -nat·ed; -nat·ingEtymology: Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare, from pro- forward + crastinus of tomorrow, from cras tomorrowtransitive verb : to put off intentionally and habituallyintransitive verb : to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be donesynonym see DELAY - pro·cras·ti·na·tion /-"kras-t&-'nA-sh&n/ noun - pro·cras·ti·na·tor /-'kras-t&-"nA-t&r/ noun-------------------------------------------------------------It's Thursday afternoon, the sun is shining and it's still 21 degrees even though it's late September. My chicken still lays an egg a day and the scabs on my elbow and knee are much better than they were. My whole shin is bruised still, but that'll be over soon enough.Obviously, I have no classes now so this would be a good time to be working on my cultural history project. Or to be washing the windows (can't remember when the last time was I did that). Or to do various other household chores, like iron or pick up messes. But I don't feel like doing any of that!

Last school year I was so much more structured than I am now, but that was because I had to be. I was so busy that if I didn't plan everything, I was afraid it would all turn out to be a big mess. Of course it didn't. It did make me feel guilty every time I missed part of my plans, for whatever reason.

This year I have lots more time off (I work less and I have less classes to take), but I haven't used it very productively yet. I haven't even started to work on my thesis yet (but I do still have plenty of time) and that one project from last year that I haven't turned in yet is also still a work in progress.

What do I do? I read a lot more, which will eventually turn out to be handy for both my thesis and my cultural history project. I cook more elaborately (very good for my health and my relationship) and I go outside a lot more (again, health!). So it doesn't matter that I'm not working every minute of every day. I do what I have to do and if I don't feel like doing it that instant, I put it off for an hour, or a day. What matters is that it gets done and that I don't feel guilty. And I'm so much more relaxed than I was a few months ago!